Long chain tertiary amine salts of fatty acids ranging from C6 to C36 have been used successfully on a commercial basis and sold under the trade name NECON®. Such compounds are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,810 (“'810 Patent”), the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. These tertiary amine salts have been used in skin and hair contacting formulations in such applications as shaving creams, skin creams, lotions, bar soaps, liquid soaps, body oils, hair colorants, afterbath lotions and splashes, lipsticks, lip balms, bath products and sunscreen formulations for their attributes of assisting in the solubilization of components in these formulations, their conditioning characteristics and their promotion of adherence to the skin and hair. Physical blends of long chain tertiary amine salts and tertiary amine quaternaries (“quats”) which have been quaternized with, e.g., dimethyl sulfate, diethyl sulfate, methyl chloride and benzyl chloride have proven effective as compounds which instill favorable characteristics in hair care products.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,991 (“'991 Patent”) discloses polymeric urethane compounds that exhibit primary utility as surfactants, wetting agents, anti-irritants, conditioners, viscosity builders in shampoos and liquid hand soaps. In addition, compounds of the '991 Patent assist in mending split ends of hair, have low levels of skin, eye and ingestion toxicity and can be used to disperse hair dyes and promote the hair dye function. U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,087 discloses novel compositions of urethane emollients, solubilizers, clarifiers and emulsifiers derived from monohydric alcohols and having no free isocyanate groups. These urethane emollients are substantially free of terminal hydroxyl groups and are derived from linear, branch-chained or aromatic monohydric alcoholic compounds of synthetic or natural origin.
Notwithstanding the utility of the aforementioned long chain tertiary amine salts, tertiary amine quaternary blends, and urethane compositions, there is still the need for a compound or composition which will combine the benefits of these classes of additives to achieve the following: reduced formulation and production cost, increased skin and hair adhesion, greater sheen enhancement and decreased toxicity in the event of ingestion or unintended exposure. Ideally, there is the need for a composition that combines the characteristic benefits attendant to compounds having mono or di-ester and urethane linkages.